You'll Never Have Nothing, Never Have Nobody
by ee-ii-ee-ii-oo
Summary: "This was it. The moment of truth, and he knew it. This was the moment in the life of Avery Barkley that the future hinged on. ... He knew he had two choices: go to her or walk away." The immediate aftermath of "On the Other Hand" ... just a short one shot.


**_You'll Never Have Nothing, Never Have Nobody_**

Just a very short one shot immediately following the finale. What could possibly be going through Juliette and Avery's mind after the horrible revelation that she did, in fact, sleep with Jeff Fordham.

I own nothing, ABC and Callie own everything.

* * *

This was it. The moment of truth, and he knew it.

This was the moment in the life of Avery Barkley that the future hinged on.

Standing in this spot on her balcony forever wasn't an option. He knew he had two choices: go to her or walk away.

Part of him was filled with the overwhelming desire to sit down beside her and wrap her in his arms and tell her that it would be okay. That they would make it. That she wouldn't always be that girl she used to be, that object of "affection" for men like her mom's "friends" or Jeff. The story she told him made him see red over what had happened to her. No one deserved that, especially not her. Not the woman who was stronger than she knew and had somehow gotten into his soul. He wanted to protect her from that. More than anything he wanted to protect her from herself. From the self-destruction she brought upon her self, because now he understood that it really was all she thought she deserved. But that part of him wanted to tell her she deserved so much more. She deserved to be loved and cared for. That he wanted to be the person who cared for her, the person she grew old with and had a family with.

But the other part of him loathed that she constantly did this to herself. That she wasn't strong enough not to act on her impulses. He thought what they had would be the difference and that she would recognize how much he loved her and that it would stop her from making those decisions. He may understand her a bit more, but it didn't change the fact that she did it. She degraded herself, put what they had at risk and made him the fool waiting for her late into the night. She didn't trust him enough to know that he wasn't going anywhere, ex-girlfriend or not... But what was worse than all that was the lying. She had been hiding it from him for days, and he found out from Gunnar, of all people. If she had just called him, talked to him, been honest, he knows he would have been angry, but he would have gotten past it because she owned up to it. Instead she hid the secret deep down inside and likely never would have said anything. It was lie after lie after lie for days. That was the unforgivable part.

So he had two choices.

Shuffling his feet, he backed up, almost ready to leave. Then she looked over at him, tears still marring her beautiful face. He moved forward. He still couldn't touch her.

Sighing, he rubbed his hand down his face and did the only thing that seemed right.

He took the third choice. He sat down in the chair next to the sofa.

Silently, and lost in thought, they sat there the rest of the night until she lay down and drifted of just before the sun began to peek over the Tennessee Hills. Taking in a deep breath, he walked inside, grabbed a blanket and covered her with it. He picked up the note pad she had been writing on, turned to a blank page and scribbled a note, leaving it where he knew she would see it. Then, turning, he moved though the house and walked out the front door.

* * *

She wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep. She knew that it had been dark when she nodded off ... and Avery had been there.

She quickly turned her head and, upon the seeing the empty chair tears began to well in her eyes again. He was gone. She sat up, only vaguely aware of the warm blanket covering her.

So this is life from now on, she thought to herself. Alone forever.

As she tried to keep herself from breaking down, yet again, something caught her eye. Her journal that she had been writing in had been left open and she made out his crisp, slightly messy handwriting on the page. Leaning over, she picked up the book and sat back to read his words.

"You'll never have nothing. And you'll never have nobody. I'll talk to you soon." A wave of relief washed over her as her fingers traced the words that somewhat echoed what he had told her that night they spent downtown busking on the sidewalk.

He wasn't leaving her alone. She knew that they would never be the same. But it gave her hope ... he wasn't giving up on her.

Now she couldn't give up on herself.

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Would love to hear what you think...let me know in the reviews section!


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